International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)

Volume 10, Issue 03, March 2019, pp. 262-272. Article ID: IJMET_10_03_027
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

STUDY OF WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL AS

SOURCE OF WIND POWER PLANT IN
MERAUKE CITY
Helga C.A. Silubun
Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Musamus
University, Merauke, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
Wind Energy is a part of promising renewable energy, in this article the author
studies the potential of wind energy as a source of wind power in the city of Merauke.
The method used is to analyze the probability of wind speed distribution based on
primary data and secondary data using the 2 parameter weibull distribution to find
out the character of the wind after that then calculate the potential of available wind
energy. The results of wind speed character analysis show β form parameter > 3, the
wind energy potential available in Merauke, with different elevations producing wind
energy potentials ranging from 2 kW to 56.83 kW.
Keywords: Wind velocity; Weibull Distribution; Wind Energy Potential
Cite this Article Helga C.A. Silubun, Study of Wind Energy Potential as Source of
Wind Power Plant in Merauke City, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering
and Technology, 10(3), 2019, pp. 262-272.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3

1. INTRODUCTION
Renewable energy continues to be developed in various parts of the world. Even consistently
and periodically in some developed countries renewable energy is a priority to meet the need
for energy amid the fossil energy crisis and the increasing population of humans (Kahraman
et al., 2010; Sanders Institute, 2019). The business is the same as providing renewable sources
for environmental treatment (Mangkoedihardjo and April, 2012). Similar to the Indonesian
state, enterprising governments continue to study, build and develop renewable energy-based
power plants as a form of government commitment, to maintain national energy security
(Silubun and Ruslau, 2018). Merauke Regency is one of the regions in Indonesia that is rich
in natural resources, but there is no more specific study to map the potential of renewable
energy.
Wind energy is one of the many renewable energies, besides being cheap and
environmentally friendly, this energy source is a promising long-term energy source. In the
article "Analysis of Wind Speed Distribution at the Mopah Airport in Merauke" (Ruslau and

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 Helga C.A. Silubun

Silubun, 2018) and "The Analysis of Wind Potential Based on Wind Speed Distribution at
Lampu Satu Beach, Merauke" (Silubun and Ruslau, 2018), the author analyze the probability
of wind distribution based on wind speed according to primary and secondary data using
various patterns of probability distribution. Secondary data was obtained from BMKG Mopah
Merauke Station, while Primary data was a direct measurement of wind data on the Lampu
Satu Merauke Beach area. In this article the author presents a complete review of the potential
of wind energy as a source of Wind power plants in the city of Merauke-Papua, using primary
and secondary data ranging from wind probability analysis using a 2-parameter weibull
distribution to the potential energy generated by wind speed in the City Merauke.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy produced from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain,
tidal water and geothermal heat (Kahraman et al., 2010; Silubun and Ruslau, 2018; Boonpa
and Sharp, 2015). Wind energy is caused by warming uneven sunlight over the surface of the
earth, hotter air will expand to light and move upward, while cooler air will be heavier and
move to occupy the area. The difference in atmospheric pressure in an area caused by
differences in temperature will produce a force. The difference in pressure expressed in terms
of pressure gradient is the rate of change in pressure due to differences in distance. The
gradient force is the force acting in the direction of the lower pressure of the lower pressure.
The direction of the pressure gradient force in the atmosphere perpendicular to the surface of
the isobars.

2.2. Wind distribution

The average wind speed calculation begins the analysis of wind energy potential, where the
average wind velocity equation is as follows:
in1 Vi .ti
V  (1)
in1 ti
where
n = the amount of measurement data
t = the time of the wind blows
V = average wind speed (m/s)
Vi = measurable wind speed (m/s)

2.3. Weibull distribution

The study of wind speed probability is often done to analyze wind energy, the study of the
probability of wind speed that is often used by researchers to describe the behavior or
character of wind in a particular region is to use the probability of Weibull distribution. The
distribution of weibull was introduced by a physicist named Walodi Weibull in 1939. In the
Weibull function variations in wind speed are described in parameters of form and scale
parameters (Ruslau and Silubun, 2018).
Weibull distribution density function 2 The parameters are defined as follows:
 1
x   x  
f  x    exp      (2)
      
 

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 Study of Wind Energy Potential as Source of Wind Power Plant in Merauke City

Whereas, the Weibull Distribution Cumulative Distribution Function (2 Parameters) is

defined as:
  x  
F  x   1  exp      (3)
   
 
With wind speed, α is a scale parameter and β is a form parameter. Changes in parameter
values in the form of weibull distribution can model various data. If β = 1, the weibull
distribution is identical to the exponential distribution, if β = 2, the weibull distribution is
identical to the Rayleigh distribution, if 3 <β <4, the weibull distribution is close to the
normal distribution. In analyzing wind probabilities if the β form parameter is obtained> 3,
then the character of the wind in the area tends to be stable, does not experience many
variations, in figure 1. we can see examples of weibull distribution flexibility.

Figure. 1. Weibull distribution's flexibility (Weibull Distribution, Online)

2.4. Specific power

The power produced on the shaft of a turbine is a transformation of kinetic energy found in
the flow of wind. Wind flow that moves at a certain speed has mass m moving at the speed v
absorbed by the arrangement of blades of wind turbines having kinetic energy (wind energy
potential) in the following equation:
1 2
E mv (Nm) (4)
2
Then the flow of wind power in watts can be calculated using equation (5):
1 1
Pw  (  Av)(v 2 )   Av3 (5)
2 2
where
Pw = wind power (Watt);
ρ = air density (Kg/m3)
A = area of a turbine cross section (m2)
v = wind velocity (m/s)

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 Helga C.A. Silubun

But not all of all the power can be utilized by the turbine because of the loss of friction on
the aerodynamic transmission blades (η) and the rotor power coefficient (Cp) so that the
power extracted by the turbine with rotor area A is:
1
P  Cp  Av3 (6)
2
The ideal rotor coefficient value is 59% or Cp = 0.5, this value is the Betz boundary value
(obtained from German scientist Albert Betz) This figure in theory shows the maximum
efficiency that can be achieved by turbine horizotal axis rotors (Wagner, 2018 ) While the
efficiency of aerodynamic transmission at the ideal maximum price  = 0,5 for blades that are
very well designed on turbines and air density values  =1.204 Kg/m2.
Then the average wind energy potential obtained from the wind data model with relative
frequency probability functions f  v  is:

1
P  Cp  A v 3 f (v)dv (7)
2 0

With f  v  is a weibull distribution function, so that the average wind energy potential
produced is:
3
vt3(1  )
1 
P  Cp  A 3
(8)
2  1 
(1   ) 
 
In Figure 2, it can be seen that changes in wind speed distribution affect the output power
of a power plant, in other words the greater the wind speed in a particular region the greater
the potential energy produced.

Figure. 2. Relationship between wind velocity and power output (Wagner, 2018)

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 Study of Wind Energy Potential as Source of Wind Power Plant in Merauke City

3. METHODOLOGY
The wind data studied in this study were obtained from primary data and secondary data,
where secondary data was obtained from measurements of the Meteorology, Climatology and
Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Merauke Mopah Station at a measurement elevation 3 meters
above the surface in the Mopah Merauke Airport area, namely data in 2017 and 2018 as well
as measurement data dated 21 July 2018 to 21 August 2018, secondary data for a month is
used as a comparison with the Primary data obtained during the measurement month. Primary
data is obtained from the results of wind speed measurements on coastal areas, namely at
Menara Pantai Lampu Satu for 1 month, starting from July 21 to August 21 in 2018, summary
can be seen in table 1. Measurement of wind speed data is carried out at 3 different elevations
from above ground level which is at elevations of 4 meters, 10 meters and 12 meters are
presented in table 3. (Silubun and Ruslau, 2018). Secondary data average wind speed in 2017
and 2018 as measured by BMKG can be seen in table 2 and table 4.

Figure.3. Wind speed measurement location map

Table 1. Data source and location meansurement

Data SourceElevation Meansurement Time Location
(meter)
1 month (21 Juli - 21 Agustus Menara Lampu Satu
Primary 4
2018) Beach
1 month (21 Juli - 21 Agustus
10
2018)
1 month (21 Juli - 21 Agustus
12
2018)
Secoundary 3 2 Years (2017 & 2018) Station Bandar Udara
(BMKG ) 3 1 bulan (21 July - 21 Augst) Mopah Merauke

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 Helga C.A. Silubun

Table 2. Average wind speed in Mopah BMKG station 2017 (Ruslau and Silubun, 2018)
Wind velocity (m/s)
Month min max Average
January 3 10 6
February 3 10 5
March 3 7 5
April 2 8 4
May 4 8 5
June 5 8 6
July 4 8 5
August 4 8 6
September 5 8 6
October 4 7 5
November 4 7 6
December 3 7 5

Table 3. Speed of average wind with different elevations (Silubun and Ruslau, 2018)
Elevation (m) Average speed (m/s)
4 10,56
10 13,69
12 15,08

3.1. Analytical method

In order to find out the potential of available wind energy, the first step is analyzing the
probability of wind distribution, in our article entitled "Analysis of Wind Speed Distribution
at the Mopah Airport in Merauke" (Ruslau and Silubun, 2018) and "The Analysis of Wind
Potential Based on Wind Speed Distribution at Lampu Satu Beach, Merauke "(Silubun and
Ruslau, 2018) previously discussed the probability of Wind Speed distribution with various
distributions, the sample can be seen in Figure 4.

(a) (b)

Figure.4. (a) Probability with a variety of 2017 BMKG Wind Speed Data Distribution Models
(b) Probability with a variety of distribution models for measurement data at a 10 meter elevation.

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 Study of Wind Energy Potential as Source of Wind Power Plant in Merauke City

But in this article, to analyze the character of the wind available in the city of Merauke,
the author only uses the probability of weibull distribution to obtain scale parameters and
form meters using equations (2) and (3) on secondary and primary data after which
calculating wind energy potential average using equation (8).

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Wind speeds that occur in the Merauke Mopah Airport area vary from time to time. A
description of the wind speeds recorded during 2017 at BMKG is presented in table 2. shows
that minimum wind speeds occur in April and maximum wind speeds occur in January and
February. However, on average, at the 99% significance level, the average wind speed each
month ranges from 5.2 to 5.5 m / s (Ruslau and Silubun, 2018). Description of wind speed
during 2018 is not much different from the previous year the wind speed is quite varied,
presented in table 4. Showing that the maximum wind speed occurs in January and
September, the minimum wind speed occurs in April while the average speed ranges from 5, 2
to 5.6 m/s.
The results of the analysis of wind speed distribution during 2018 are presented in Figure
5. And the analysis of wind speed distribution results of measurement data for 1 month on the
Beach tower of one merauke lamp is presented in Figure 6.

Table 4. Average wind speed in Mopah BMKG Station 2018

Wind velocity (m/s)
Month min max average
January 3 12 4,9
February 4 7 4,6
March 3 8 5,2
April 3 7 4,8
May 4 8 5,6
June 4 8 5,4
July 4 7 5,7
August 3 8 5,5
September 5 10 6,5
October 4 8 5,9
November 4 8 5,8
December 3 7 4,5

Figure.5. Wind speed distribution year 2018

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 Helga C.A. Silubun

Figure.6. Wind speed distribution at 3 different elevations

Furthermore, the results of pattern analysis and wind speed distribution characteristics in
the city of Merauke using a weibull distribution for secondary and primary data are presented
in Figure 7(a-b). Figure 7(a) is the result of a 2-parameter weibull distribution analysis using
secondary data, ie data from BMKG station Mopah measurements for 2 years, 2017 & 2018
at an elevation of 3 meters above ground level, and sample images from the analysis of
weibull distribution for data The primary measurement on the Pantai Lampu Satu Tower can
be seen in Figure 7(b) measurement of wind speed at an elevation of 12 meters above ground
level, more detailed data is presented in table 5.
Probability Density Function
0.36

0.32

0.28

0.24

0.2
f(x)

0.16

0.12

0.08

0.04

0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
x

Histogram Weibull

Figure.7(a). Weibull Distribution 2 Parameters of Wind Speed data during 2017 and 2018

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 Study of Wind Energy Potential as Source of Wind Power Plant in Merauke City

Probability Density Function

0.48

0.44

0.4

0.36

0.32

0.28
f(x)

0.24

0.2

0.16

0.12

0.08

0.04

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
x

Histogram Weibull

Figure.7(b). Weibull Distribution 2 Data parameters Wind Speed Measurement for 1 month at 12
meters elevation

Table 5. Value of Average Speed and Weibull Parameters

Data Source Elevation length of average Weibull Parameters
(meter) measurement (m/s)  β
Primary 4 1 month 10,56 4,15 11,58
10 1 month 13,69 1,99 15,42
12 1 month 15,08 2,41 16,97
Secoundary 3 2 Years 5,38 5,35 5,82
3 1 bulan 5,59 4,96 6,02
The results of wind distribution analysis show that the average wind speed at an altitude
of 3 meters above ground level in the area of Mopah Airport Station in 2017 and 2018 is 5.38
m / s, has a scale parameter of 5.35 and a form parameter of 5, 82, and the average wind speed
data for one month of measurement, from July to August 2018 of 5.59 m / s, has a scale
parameter of 4.96 and a form parameter of 6.02. Analysis of distribution in the Pantai Lampu
Satu Tower area, the average wind speed value at each different elevation is presented in table
3, and the value of the disbursed analysis results is shown in table 5, where at 4 meters
elevation produces a scale parameter of 4.15 and form parameters at 11.59, at 10 meters
elevation produces a scale parameter of 1.99 and its shape parameter is 15.42, at a 12 meter
levitation it produces a scale parameter of 15.08 and its shape parameter is 16.97. The β form
parameter values obtained based on the results of the wind speed analysis on the area of
Mopah Airport Station and on the Pantai Menara Lampu Satu area have a value greater than 3
(β> 3) which states that the available wind character is very stable or does not have many
variations .
The potential of electrical energy produced varies with elevation and place of
measurement, in the coastal area wind distribution is bigger and more stable when compared
to Mopah airport area so that it has an impact on the potential of electricity produced, the
results can be seen in table 6. At the Airport Station area Mopah with measurements of wind
speed at an elevation of 3 meters above ground level produces approximately 2 kW of
electrical energy while in the coastal area, namely the one-light Beach Tower, at 4 meters
elevation produces electricity of 19.34 kW, at an elevation of 10 meters producing energy
electricity is 42.45 kW and at 12 meters elevation produces electrical energy of 56.83 kW.

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 Helga C.A. Silubun

Table 6. Value of potential wind energy

Data Source Elevation length of Potential wind
(meter) measurement energy (KW)
Primary 4 1 month 19,34
10 1 month 42,45
12 1 month 56,83
Secoundary 3 2 Years 2,44
(BMKG ) 3 1 bulan 2,76

5. CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis of the probability of wind speed distribution in the area of Mopah
Airport and Coastal Satu Pantai Merauke, the character of the available wind is very stable
and does not experience many variations. It can be seen from the form parameter values β> 3
and the calculation results of potential wind energy obtained from 2 kW to with 56.83 kW at
different elevations, this states that the potential of available wind energy is large enough to
be considered for planning the construction of Wind Power Plants in Merauke City.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Acknowledgments are conveyed to the Ministry of Research, Technology and Education of
the High Repoblik Indonesia, which has supported this research through the Simlitabmas PDP
Grant. And Musamus University Merauke has funded the publication of this article.

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